Can you guys pray for my kid?

[Drama Llama]

His asthma is pretty flared from the tree pollen.  It hasn't been this bad for years.

He's fine.  I mean I know he's fine, but because of masks and precautions it's the first time either of my kids has been sick since their brother died of lung disease, and I'm just a little freaked out because he's coughing a lot. 

For context he was diagnosed at 6 weeks, so super early, and has never had a sudden attack where he couldn't get oxygen in 14 years, and his pulse ox isn't scary.  I'm just a little panicky, so I need some reassurance.  

Edited March 28, 2022 by Baseballandhockey
That was a bad typo. His pulse ox ISN'T scary. Trust me I know about scary pulse oxes (oxen?)

[maize]

Praying.

[Katy]

Praying

[Drama Llama]

I am sure he's fine. 

[YaelAldrich]

But we can still pray. Prayer is good for this worry!

[thewellerman]

Praying!  And it is always okay to take him in for extra reassurance!  

[DawnM]

Awe, it is so hard to see our kids going through things.

[Junie]

Praying.

[Melissa in Australia]

Hugs

 sending positive thoughts

[happi duck]

(hugs)

[Kareni]

Sending good thoughts for him and you.

Regards,

Kareni

[Spryte]

So scary to go through that with our kids. Sending him lots of good thoughts, and many for you, too!

Asthma stinks.

[Harriet Vane]

It's hard to watch our children suffer. Yes, he is in my prayers.

[MercyA]

Praying.

[Catwoman]

Praying!

[Ausmumof3]

Praying 😞

[Kassia]

Sending positive thoughts for him and you that he feels better soon.  Sending hugs.

[Soror]

(hugs) and good thoughts-- hope you are all sleeping well now

[Drama Llama]

We made it through the night with tons of coughing, saw the pediatrician and are waiting at the 24 hour pharmacy. 

He is in good spirits.  My younger kid is totally freaked out by his brother being sick. Trauma sucks.  

[Drama Llama]

You don’t need to be sad.  His Grandpa has him he is getting lots of love.

 

[ktgrok]

Praying for your older to get better quickly, and for peace for you and your younger son. Not being able to breathe is always scary, and with the trauma added in, that just makes it exponentially worse. I'm sorry you all are dealing with this, it is normal to be stressed, but still sucks. 

Hugs. 

Oh, I remember reading that singing can sometimes be helpful, as it helps regulate breathing when asthma is flared - maybe singing some together, if he's not going to think that is silly, would help everyone's mood and his lungs?

[wintermom]

46 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

We made it through the night with tons of coughing, saw the pediatrician and are waiting at the 24 hour pharmacy. 

He is in good spirits.  My younger kid is totally freaked out by his brother being sick. Trauma sucks.  

Glad you're able to get the meds to help him. Allergies can be so volatile. The sudden flare ups can hit everyone like a brick. Hope the meds help make him more comfortable, and that the stress eases quickly for your whole family. ((hugs))

[HazelAnne]

Praying 

[Insertcreativenamehere]

I get how scary breathing issues and asthma can be, especially for your family. Lots of hugs and prayers! 

[Xahm]

Praying for you and him and his brother that you may find rest, comfort, and peace.

[Drama Llama]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

Praying for your older to get better quickly, and for peace for you and your younger son. Not being able to breathe is always scary, and with the trauma added in, that just makes it exponentially worse. I'm sorry you all are dealing with this, it is normal to be stressed, but still sucks. 

Hugs. 

Oh, I remember reading that singing can sometimes be helpful, as it helps regulate breathing when asthma is flared - maybe singing some together, if he's not going to think that is silly, would help everyone's mood and his lungs?

This is actually my singer, he’s got a big audition coming up so maybe I will nag him to practice.  

[dirty ethel rackham]

Praying for your son (and for your mama heart.)  

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Sending up thoughts for health.

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said:

This is actually my singer, he’s got a big audition coming up so maybe I will nag him to practice.  

He shouldn't push himself it it makes it worse, but the voice exercises can help get more oxygen in, clear the lungs, and regulate the exhale, which is the part asthma messes with so much. By exhaling more, he will be able to inhale more. (which I just realized you already know, sorry!)

[stephanier.1765]

Poor guy, he must be feeling miserable. I hope he feels better soon!

 

[Drama Llama]

40 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Poor guy, he must be feeling miserable. I hope he feels better soon!

 

Big brother continues to maintain that he feels fine while getting out of breath and coughing from activities like having a conversation.  He is at his grandfather's, binging on video games since he is under strict orders not to open any doors or windows. 

Little brother was so relieved he came home (apparently he didn't really believe me that his brother didn't need the hospital) that he went to sleep.  My guess is he was like me and woke up every time his brother coughed all night.  

[Kassia]

I hope he gets some relief soon.  That sounds awful for him and so worrisome for you and little brother.  😞 

[ktgrok]

Do you have room air filters? Would that help, especially in his bedroom?

[Drama Llama]

4 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Do you have room air filters? Would that help, especially in his bedroom?

Oh we have everything.  I really don’t think there is an indoor precaution we could take other than getting rid of the dog who he isn’t allergic to but certainly brings in pollen on his fur. Some things we put in place for him, some for his brother but we just kept them.

But we have no carpet, all bedding washed multiple times a week, air filters in every room, UV in the duct work, windows shut tight.  Window coverings that we can wipe down multiple times a week.  Our stuffed animals are all machine washable and swim regularly.  His grandfather’s house where he stayed today and will stay tomorrow is the same. 

The issue is he went about 6 hours south to an area where pollen is peak and stayed outside for a week.  And his asthma is the kind that develops slowly but also leaves slowly so he’s paying for that now.  

His cough is sounding worse since his airways are open enough that the junk is moving so that’s a good time.  Now cross your fingers that no bacteria grows in all that junk. 

He will go to school long enough to get covid tested tomorrow (1st day back from spring break) and then hang with grandpa.  On Wed he’ll see the allergist, and then hopefully go to school.

[alisoncooks]

My kiddo with seasonal allergies is off-the-charts reacting this year. I don’t know what’s up. Either something is more pollen-y than normal, or maybe we’re suffering from a 2-yr cumulative lack of exposure. 🤷‍♀️Idk if that’s even a thing with allergies…

[prairiewindmomma]

12 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

Oh we have everything.  I really don’t think there is an indoor precaution we could take other than getting rid of the dog who he isn’t allergic to but certainly brings in pollen on his fur. Some things we put in place for him, some for his brother but we just kept them.

But we have no carpet, all bedding washed multiple times a week, air filters in every room, UV in the duct work, windows shut tight.  Window coverings that we can wipe down multiple times a week.  Our stuffed animals are all machine washable and swim regularly.  His grandfather’s house where he stayed today and will stay tomorrow is the same. 

The issue is he went about 6 hours south to an area where pollen is peak and stayed outside for a week.  And his asthma is the kind that develops slowly but also leaves slowly so he’s paying for that now.  

His cough is sounding worse since his airways are open enough that the junk is moving so that’s a good time.  Now cross your fingers that no bacteria grows in all that junk. 

He will go to school long enough to get covid tested tomorrow (1st day back from spring break) and then hang with grandpa.  On Wed he’ll see the allergist, and then hopefully go to school.

When we are at this point, we sometimes do a three day prednisone boost, fwiw, to try to head off any infection. I just call in.

Glad he is going to the allergist.

[Drama Llama]

2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

When we are at this point, we sometimes do a three day prednisone boost, fwiw, to try to head off any infection. I just call in.

Glad he is going to the allergist.

That’s the script they gave him this morning at the ped, except ours likes to do 5 days.  I assume it’s why his cough has changed. 

He hasn’t seen his allergist in a couple years due to the pandemic, so I am glad that we’re going although with him on steroids for 48 hours before we go I imagine she won’t see the full picture. 

[ktgrok]

53 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

Oh we have everything.  I really don’t think there is an indoor precaution we could take other than getting rid of the dog who he isn’t allergic to but certainly brings in pollen on his fur. Some things we put in place for him, some for his brother but we just kept them.

But we have no carpet, all bedding washed multiple times a week, air filters in every room, UV in the duct work, windows shut tight.  Window coverings that we can wipe down multiple times a week.  Our stuffed animals are all machine washable and swim regularly.  His grandfather’s house where he stayed today and will stay tomorrow is the same. 

The issue is he went about 6 hours south to an area where pollen is peak and stayed outside for a week.  And his asthma is the kind that develops slowly but also leaves slowly so he’s paying for that now.  

His cough is sounding worse since his airways are open enough that the junk is moving so that’s a good time.  Now cross your fingers that no bacteria grows in all that junk. 

He will go to school long enough to get covid tested tomorrow (1st day back from spring break) and then hang with grandpa.  On Wed he’ll see the allergist, and then hopefully go to school.

Gotcha. Other than wiping down the dog with a babywipe, and him wiping himself down with one when he comes in from outside, I got nothing else, and you already probably know those things. 

34 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

That’s the script they gave him this morning at the ped, except ours likes to do 5 days.  I assume it’s why his cough has changed. 

He hasn’t seen his allergist in a couple years due to the pandemic, so I am glad that we’re going although with him on steroids for 48 hours before we go I imagine she won’t see the full picture. 

That should help a ton. I had that same type of asthma as a kid - slow to start, then slow to leave, and I would also do a 3 or 5 day taper of pred when it happened. Hugs to him and you. 

[EKS]

Has wearing an N95 already been suggested?

[Drama Llama]

1 hour ago, EKS said:

Has wearing an N95 already been suggested?

Yeah and he has although right now I think he would struggle he did not mask outside on vacation he was running and cycling and walking the golf course and it would have been a lot in a N95

[prairiewindmomma]

YMMV, but my kids have been running and hiking and doing sports conditioning and such in N95s. We started because of COVID and running inside of gyms, but my kids voluntarily keep doing it because their asthma has been so much better. We are having to trash and not rotate masks because there is so much tree pollen happening right now….but we haven’t had to use albuterol at all which is rare for this time of year for us. It is a bit of a strain, but my kids all conditioned through it.

[Drama Llama]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

YMMV, but my kids have been running and hiking and doing sports conditioning and such in N95s. We started because of COVID and running inside of gyms, but my kids voluntarily keep doing it because their asthma has been so much better. We are having to trash and not rotate masks because there is so much tree pollen happening right now….but we haven’t had to use albuterol at all which is rare for this time of year for us. It is a bit of a strain, but my kids all conditioned through it.

I’m sure we’ll talk through all of this with the Doctor tomorrow.

 

 

[Spryte]

Same kind of asthma here, and we do All The Things, too. Ugh!

I have no great advice to add, just empathy.

One of my kids recently got off the daily preventative inhaler med, so that was a small victory. I’m now watching pollen levels with trepidation.

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Baseballandhockey said:

I’m sure we’ll talk through all of this with the Doctor tomorrow.

 

 

Definitely ask if there is a protocol he can do when he is going to be outside more - be that an additional dose of something, or starting albuterol, or whatever. 

[Drama Llama]

1 minute ago, ktgrok said:

Definitely ask if there is a protocol he can do when he is going to be outside more - be that an additional dose of something, or starting albuterol, or whatever. 

We added a dose of controller and extra allergy meds and pretreated wjth xopenex.  I knew he’d need help but I just didn’t expect that wouldn’t be enough help.  

I wonder if somehow the suddenness made it worse?  Like the pollen was still ramping up here, no where near the peak and then he traveled to where it was the peak?  Didn’t have time to adjust?  

He covid tested today although I am not worried, and sees the allergist tomorrow.  He is already feeling better from the pred.

Little brother is making it clear he doesn’t trust me.  He recorded his brother coughing and sought a second opinion from the school nurse.  Who was like “yep, that sounds like he’s getting better to me too!  Go back to class!”  I am gonna bake that lady some cookies.

[ktgrok]

6 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

We added a dose of controller and extra allergy meds and pretreated wjth xopenex.  I knew he’d need help but I just didn’t expect that wouldn’t be enough help.  

I wonder if somehow the suddenness made it worse?  Like the pollen was still ramping up here, no where near the peak and then he traveled to where it was the peak?  Didn’t have time to adjust?  

He covid tested today although I am not worried, and sees the allergist tomorrow.  He is already feeling better from the pred.

Little brother is making it clear he doesn’t trust me.  He recorded his brother coughing and sought a second opinion from the school nurse.  Who was like “yep, that sounds like he’s getting better to me too!  Go back to class!”  I am gonna bake that lady some cookies.

could also be because he traveled, so different pollen distribution? Like, more of a certain kind that is worse for him than you get of that kind in your area? 

Also, was he maybe showering less, or maybe missed some doses? Or, maybe where they stayed had something he's allergic to in it - mold or something, that he was exposed to all night, you know?

[Drama Llama]

7 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

could also be because he traveled, so different pollen distribution? Like, more of a certain kind that is worse for him than you get of that kind in your area? 

Also, was he maybe showering less, or maybe missed some doses? Or, maybe where they stayed had something he's allergic to in it - mold or something, that he was exposed to all night, you know?

Yeah.  The meds seem to have been taken and he showers a lot but  I live in an inner suburb so not as green as a golf resort that is named for a tree he is allergic to.  That might have been a bad sign.

[wintermom]

So glad to hear that he's doing better. My own allergy-induced asthma is ramping up for me. It's tiring to deal with - I just want to go to bed and sleep. 

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said:

Yeah.  The meds seem to have been taken and he showers a lot but  I live in an inner suburb so not as green as a golf resort that is named for a tree he is allergic to.  That might have been a bad sign.

lol...I ruled out any subdivision with the word "oak" in the name for this very reason, when looking at houses, lol. Still have oak trees though.